The history of economic doctrines as a science. History of economic doctrines - summary
Introduction
2. The formation of economics as a science in the teachings of mercantilism, physiocracy, English classical political economy
3. Development of economic theory in the 20th century
Conclusion
List of used literature
Introduction
The history of mankind is the history of the economy. Therefore, studying the history of the economy, we study the history of human labor.
The economy of the state is to a certain extent connected with the economic thinking, the mentality of the inhabitants of this state. Economic views arose in ancient times. The human mind gradually became aware of the processes and patterns of economic life, learned their causes. From primitive views to truly scientific theories - such is the difficult way of knowing the essence of economic processes, phenomena, and trends. At the same time, one theory, one school replaced another, various concepts came into conflict, introducing, as a rule, some rational grains into the common storehouse of economic wisdom. The process of cognition has not been completed even now, therefore, one can consider oneself a conscious subject of economic activity, only having become acquainted, at least in general terms, with the main directions of economic theories, both past and present.
The use of the principle of historicism in economic research opens up broad possibilities for a comparative analysis of economic thought and the economic development of various countries and peoples at different stages of their development. The formation of economic thought coincides with the formation of human society. Therefore, in order to understand economic science, it is necessary to know not only the laws and principles of economics during the period of its time, but also where, from what time and under what circumstances the main milestones of all the laws of this science were born. Probably, before turning to a specific study of economics, it is necessary to get at least a general idea of the main development of economic thought.
The relevance of the topic of the course work is that philosophers and economists lived in different periods of time and in different countries, which was the result of differences in their views and solutions to certain problems.
As already known, the development of economic science took place as people faced certain economic problems and tried to solve them. Also relevant are the problems that have faced economic thought for thousands of years. Thus, the most archaic and at the same time the most modern problem of economic science is the problem of exchange, the problem of commodity-money relations. The history of the development of economic science is also the history of the development of exchange relations, the social division of labor, and market relations in general. All these problems are inextricably linked, moreover, one becomes a condition for the development of another, the development of one means the development of others.
The second most difficult problem that has confronted economic thought for thousands of years is the production of a surplus product. When a man alone could not feed himself, he had no family, no property. That is why people in ancient times lived in communities. They hunted together, produced simple products together, and consumed them together. Even women were common, children were also raised together. As soon as the skill, skill of a person increased, and most importantly, the means of labor developed so much that one person could produce more than he himself consumed, he got a wife, children, a house - property. And most importantly, a surplus of product appeared, which became the subject and object of people's struggle. The social order has changed. The primitive community has turned into slavery. In essence, the change from one socio-economic formation to another meant a change in the forms of production and distribution of the surplus product.
Where do incomes come from, how the wealth of a person and a country grows - these are the questions that have been a stumbling block for economists at all times. With the development of productive forces, naturally, economic thought also developed. It was formed into economic views, and those, in turn, developed in the last 200-250 years into economic doctrines. Holistic economic doctrines until the XVIII century. was not and could not be, since they could arise only as a result of understanding the general problems of the national economy, when national markets began to form and emerge. When the people, the state felt themselves as a single entity in economic, national and cultural terms.
The purpose of the course work is to consider all periods of the life of the formation and development of economic theory as a science, in particular: the origin in ancient society, the Middle Ages; formation in the teachings of mercantilists, physiocrats, classics of political economy; and its development in modern society. In order to understand specifically what is the novelty of each economic thought, it is necessary to trace and draw conclusions by studying the views of all economists, which will be shown in the course work.
1. The origin of economic knowledge in ancient society
To date, only those issues of economic thinking of antiquity, which were reflected in written sources, have been studied. Therefore, the beginning of the presentation of the history of economic thought coincides with the emergence of the first civilizations - Ancient Asia, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome.
The features of Eastern slavery, which originated in the 4th millennium BC, include: the existence of a rural community along with private property of slave owners; the enslavement of the broad masses of the population by the state, which controls the irrigation system; the spread of debt slavery.
One of the largest ancient eastern slave states was Babylonian. The code of laws of King Hammurabi (1792 - 1750 BC) protects the economic basis of the slave system - private property. An attempt on her life is punishable by death. Slaves are equated with the property of slave owners.
Along with the recognition of the right of private property, the code of laws carried out legal protection of the personality of direct producers. Thus, it was forbidden to sell and alienate land plots of royal soldiers and other categories of subjects for debts; usury was limited; debt slavery was defined for three years, regardless of the amount of debt. The Code of Hammurabi represents one of the first attempts to rule a country through a system of legal norms.
The main currents of economic thought in Ancient China (Confucianism, legalism, Taoism) took shape in the 6th-3rd centuries. BC. Kung Tzu was the founder of Confucianism. In order to stabilize the social system of China, he proposed a program for the moral improvement of a person, which included: respect for elders and superiors, showing respect to sons, friendship with brothers, regulation of patriarchal relations. He considered the state as a big family, and the ruler - as "the father of the people."
Confucius distinguished between collective property and private property and preferred the latter. Class division of society, in his opinion, established by God and nature. But since labor is the source of wealth, he called on the people to work more, but consume less.
The representatives of Confucianism were also Men-Tzu and Xun-Tzu. Mencius believed that the sky was assigned to ordinary people to feed the ruling class. Based on this, he put forward a kind of agrarian project, according to which communal lands were divided into nine equal shares. The ninth plot (public field) was to be cultivated jointly by the peasants, and the harvest was to be placed at the disposal of state officials.
Confucian ideologues had opponents - legalists, who advocated governing the country through laws, not rituals. They were the initiators of reforms aimed at undermining patriarchal-communal relations.
The most important monument of ancient India is the Arthashastra, whose compilation is attributed to Kautilya. He views slavery as the lot of the lower class; the cost of things determines the number of days of work, and remuneration by the results of labor; profit is included in the price of goods as other costs.
In the classical form, slavery, known as the ancient, existed in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome from the 1st millennium BC. and flourished in the 5th century. BC. In contrast to the eastern, the formation of ancient slavery took place at a higher level of development. That is why this process took place there almost simultaneously with the development of commodity-money relations.
The beginnings of the economic thought of ancient Greece are found in Homer's poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey", which reflected the concept of natural economy.
In the VII - VI centuries. BC. slavery is becoming widespread, private property is finally replacing tribal property, trade and usury are rapidly developing. The reformers of this period are Solon and Pisistratus. The most important moment of Solon's reforms was the prohibition of debt slavery, it became the lot of only foreigners.
During the heyday of slavery, economic policy was oriented towards the development of trade and money economy. In the conditions of the crisis of slavery, it becomes more reactionary, as it focuses on the protection of subsistence farming and aristocratic forms of state organization. Xenophon, Plato and Aristotle become its spokesmen.
Xenophon (430-354 BC) is considered by many to be the first economist, for it is he who owns the term "economy". He introduces for the first time the concepts of division of labor and specialization. His ideal was a closed autarkic subsistence economy. In the treatise "Domostroy" he praised the virtues of agriculture and condemned crafts and trade; He considered slaves to be talking tools, was aware of their low productivity, and recommended that material incentives be used more widely. The merit of Xenophon is that he considered economic activity as a process of creating useful things. In this regard, he entered the history of economic thought as a scientist who was one of the first to understand the advantages of the division of labor, its connection with the size of the market.
It explores under the influence of what conditions views on economic reality change, how interpretations of basic categories evolve, methods of economic research are improved.
At the first acquaintance with the history of economic doctrines, one gets the impression that it is impossible to comprehend it, since the number of ideas, authors, and theories is unusually large, but it gradually becomes obvious that there are not so many new ideas and revolutionary breakthroughs. Economic theory is fairly easy to systematize.
The history of economic doctrines represents the stages of knowledge of economic science, helps to understand the logic, the relationship of economic categories, laws, concepts.
Acquaintance with various areas in economic science makes it possible to better understand the relationship of theoretical views and concepts with the conditions and causes of their occurrence, the needs of economic practice, and the interests of various peoples and countries. It is important to understand the sequence, the reasons for the evolution of scientific positions, ideas, their connection with the ongoing changes in economic practice.
The study of the history of economic doctrines allows us to distinguish two types of analysis: positive and normative. Positive Economics- a part of economic science that studies facts and the relationships between these facts. Normative theory engages in judgments about whether economic conditions or policies are good or bad, these judgments are advisory in nature, they say how the world should be. Economic science was divided into theoretical (positive) and practical (normative) at the end of the 19th century. during the period of the emergence and development of the historical school, which set the direction for the development of the applied part.
The authors of the most significant economic theories are laureates A. Nobel Memorial Prize, which since 1969 has been awarded for achievements in the field of economic sciences. In the course of the history of economic doctrines, the most striking of them are studied.
It took hundreds of years for today's directions of economic thought: neoclassical, Marxist, neo-Keynesian, institutional and neo-institutional, neoliberal. The amount of knowledge on the history of economic doctrines is an integral part of universal human culture, including economic culture.
The subject of the history of economic doctrines
The history of economic thought begins from those ancient times when people first thought about the goals of their actions, the ways and means of achieving them, as well as the relationships that develop between people in the process and as a result of obtaining and distributing goods, exchanging products and services produced.
Economic thought is a very broad concept. These are the ideas that exist in the mass consciousness, and religious assessments and prescriptions that relate to economic relations, these are the theoretical constructions of scientists, and the economic programs of political parties.
The sphere of economic thought, the field of application, reflections and conclusions, practical solutions is also diverse. Here are the general laws, and the peculiarities of the economy of individual industries, and the problems of the location of production, and the circulation of money and the efficiency of capital investments, and the tax system, and economic legislation.
economic doctrines are theoretical concepts that reflect the basic laws of economic life, describe the relationship between its subjects, identify the driving forces and significant factors in the creation, distribution and exchange of goods.
Economic doctrines are younger than economic thought. The history of economic doctrines begins in the 16th century.
The subject of the course in the history of economic doctrines is the process of emergence, development and change of economic ideas and views as changes occur in the economy, science, technology and the social sphere. These ideas are studied in the theories of individual economists, theoretical schools, currents and trends.
The study of this course is an important tool for identifying objective patterns in the development of both the world and the domestic economy. In addition, knowledge in the field of the evolution of the history of economic doctrines forms the necessary erudition and creative skills in an economist, which allow him to freely navigate the problems of economic theory, compare alternative theoretical approaches and make independent decisions on the practical implementation of urgent economic problems.
The amount of knowledge on the history of economic doctrines is an integral part of economic culture. In the process of studying it, one should refer to the scientific biographies of famous economists, which are of both scientific and practical interest to readers.
Directions and stages of development of economic thought
To overcome the tendentious approach to analyzing the evolution of economic doctrines means, first of all, to recognize as erroneous the ideas of classifying economic theory according to the class-formation principle (the theory of “bourgeois”, “petty-bourgeois”, “proletarian” or “capitalist” and “socialist”), including the far-fetched idea contrasting economic theory on a geographical basis (“domestic theory” and “western theory”). In this context, we are talking about the fact that the structuring of economic thought in the main directions and stages of its evolution should be carried out taking into account the best socio-economic achievements of world civilization and the totality that determine the renewal and change of the economic theory of historical, economic and social factors.
The structure of the course on the history of economics proposed on this site consists of an introductory and three main sections. Its novelty, in contrast to the publications of the Soviet period and even a number of works of recent years, lies, first of all, in the rejection of the criterion of class socio-economic formations (slave-owning, feudal, capitalist) and in highlighting the position of specific qualitative transformations in the economy and economic theory from the time of the pre-market economy to the era of the liberal (unregulated), and then socially oriented or, as they often say, regulated market economy.
Accordingly, these are the following main structural units of the course:
- section of economic doctrines of the era of the pre-market economy;
- section of economic doctrines of the era of unregulated market economy;
- section of the economic doctrines of the regulated (socially oriented) era.
Here, however, two things need to be clarified. First, the epochs of the pre-market and market economies are supposed to be distinguished on the basis of the predominance of natural-economic or commodity-money relations in society. And, secondly, the eras of unregulated and regulated market economies must be distinguished not because of whether there is state intervention in economic processes, but by whether the state provides conditions for the demonopolization of the economy and social control over the economy.
Let us now briefly characterize the sequence and essence of the directions and stages in the development of economic thought within the framework of the above sections of the course.
1. Economic doctrines of the era of the pre-market economy. This epoch includes the periods of the Ancient World and the Middle Ages, during which subsistence-economic social relations prevailed, and reproduction was predominantly extensive. Economic thought in this era was expressed, as a rule, by philosophers and religious figures. The level of systematization of economic ideas and concepts they achieved did not provide sufficient prerequisites for isolating the theoretical constructions of that time into an independent branch of science specializing purely in economic problems.
This era is completed by a special stage in the evolution of both economics and economic thought. From the point of view of economic history, this stage in Marxist economic literature is called the period of primitive accumulation of capital and the birth of capitalism; according to the non-class-formation position, this is the period of transition to the market mechanism of management. From the point of view of the history of economic thought, this stage is called mercantilism and is also interpreted in two ways; in the Marxist version - as the period of the birth of the first school of the economic theory of capitalism (bourgeois political economy), and according to the non-class-formation version - as the period of the first theoretical concept of the market economy.
Mercantilism, which originated in the bowels of the subsistence economy, became the stage of a large-scale (national) testing of protectionist measures in the sphere of industry and foreign trade and understanding of the development of the economy in the context of emerging entrepreneurial activity. And since the mercantilist concept actually begins counting its time from the 16th century, the beginning of the separate development of economic theory as an independent branch of science is most often attributed to this milestone.
In particular, at the dawn of its historical ascent, economic science, based on mercantilist postulates, propagated the expediency of state regulatory influence through economic motives and transactions so that “new” relations, which later received the name “market” or “capitalist”, would spread to all aspects of public relations of the state.
2. Economic teachings of the era of unregulated market economy. The time frame of this era covers the period from about the end of the XII century. until the 30s. XX century, during which the motto of the complete “laissez faire” dominated the theories of leading schools and directions of economic thought - a phrase meaning the absolute non-interference of the state in business life, or, which is the same thing, the principle of economic liberalism.
In this era, the economy, thanks to the industrial revolution, made the transition from the manufacturing stage to the so-called industrial stage of its evolution. Having reached its apogee in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the industrial type of management also underwent a qualitative modification and acquired signs of a monopolized type of economy.
But it is precisely the designated types of economy, due to the predominance of the idea of self-regulation of the economy of free competition, that predetermined the originality of the postulates and the historically established sequence of domination in the economic science of this era, first of classical political economy, and then of neoclassical economic theory.
Classical political economy occupied "commanding heights" in economic theory for almost 200 years - from the end of the 17th century to the end of the 17th century. to the second half of the 19th century, essentially laying the foundations for modern economics. Its leaders, having in many respects rightfully condemned the protectionism of the mercantilists, thoroughly opposed the anti-market reformist concepts of the first half of the 19th century. in the works of their contemporaries, both from among the supporters of the transition to a society of social justice based on the restoration of the leading role in the economy of small-scale production, and the ideologists of utopian socialism, who called for universal approval by mankind of the advantages of such a socio-economic structure of society, in which there would be no money, private property , exploitation and other "evil" of the capitalist present.
At the same time, the “classics” completely unjustifiably overlooked the significance of the search for the relationship and interdependence of economic environment factors with factors of a national historical and social nature, insisting on the inviolability of the principles of “pure” economic theory and not taking seriously enough successful developments in this direction in the works authors of the so-called German historical school in the second half of the 19th century.
Replaced at the end of the XIX century. classical political economy, neoclassical economics became its successor, primarily due to the preservation of "fidelity" to the ideals of "pure" economics. At the same time, it clearly surpassed its predecessor in many theoretical and methodological aspects. The main thing in this regard was the introduction of marginal (limiting) principles based on the mathematical “language” into the tools of economic analysis, which gave the new (neoclassical) economic theory a greater degree of reliability and contributed to the isolation of an independent section in its composition - microeconomics.
3. The Economic Teachings of the Regulated Era(socially oriented) market economy. This era - the era of the latest history of economic doctrines - originates from the 20-30s. XX century, i.e., since the time when the antimonopoly concepts and ideas of social control of the economy by society were fully identified, shedding light on the failure of the lassez faire principle and aiming at various measures of demonopolization of the economy through state intervention in the economy. These measures are based on much more advanced analytical constructions provided for in economic theories updated on the basis of a synthesis of the entire set of social relations factors.
In this regard, we mean, firstly, the new, established by the 30s. 19th century the socio-institutional direction of economic thought, which in its three scientific currents is often simply called American institutionalism; also originated in the 1930s. two alternative directions (Keynesian and neoliberal) of theories of state regulation of the economy, which gave the status of an independent one more section of economic theory - macroeconomics.
As a result, over the last seven or eight decades of the ending XX century. economic theory was able to bring to the attention of the public a number of fundamentally new and extraordinary scenarios of possible options (models) for the growth of the national economy of states in the conditions of the unprecedented problems they are experiencing before, caused by the consequences of the modern scientific and technological revolution. The economic science of our days is closer than ever to developing the most reliable “recipes” on the way to erasing social contrasts in a civilized society and forming in it a truly new way of life and thinking.
For example, now economists in many countries, in designating the past and future state of society, no longer resort to opposing each other (at least explicitly) the former antipodes of economic theory - “capitalism” and “socialism” and, accordingly, “capitalist” and “socialist theories." Instead, theoretical studies about the "market economy" or "market economic relations" are becoming widespread in the economic literature.
Finally, it should be noted that by means of the non-class structure of the course on the history of economic doctrines proposed in this teaching aid, the solution of a two-pronged task is pursued, namely, to substantiate the need for de-ideologized principles of periodization of the directions and stages of the evolution of economic thought as the times of the prehistory of the market economy and market economic theory. , and today's realities in the theory and practice of a regulated (socially oriented) market, and that the criterion for the progress of science and truth should never be either “universal agreement” or “consent of the majority”.
The thinkers of Ancient Greece not only posed the most difficult economic questions, but also gave their own answers to them. They introduced the term "economy" and derived from it "economy". Economy was understood as a science with the help of which you can enrich your economy. They also put forward the idea of a division of labor, conjectured that the equality between commodities is based on something in common that makes them comparable, and for the first time made a distinction between simple commodity circulation and the circulation of money as capital. The economic discoveries of the thinkers of ancient Greece contributed to the further development of economic science.
Main article: Economic thought of the Middle Ages
Mercantilism
The essence of mercantilism was reduced to wealth, primarily to gold, with which everything could be bought, since precious metals were the money of that time.
Physiocracy
Physical economy, physiocracy - an economic school, one of the scientific approaches to the study and organization of the economy, the subject of study of which are economic processes measured in physical (natural) quantities and ways to control the exchange of matter-energy-momentum-information in human economic activity, subject to the requirements of laws physics.
Classical economic theory
institutionalism
The concept of institutionalism includes two aspects: "institutions" - norms, customs of behavior in society, and "institutions" - fixing norms and customs in the form of laws, organizations, institutions.
The meaning of the institutional approach is not to be limited to the analysis of economic categories and processes in its pure form, but to include institutions in the analysis and take into account non-economic factors.
Mainstream
The totality of the main currents of modern economic thought in the West has been called the mainstream. (English) Russian.
The strongest scientific current at the moment [ ] in the world is neoclassical. The last 10 years [ ] were marked by the flourishing of new institutionalism, but the final victory of this school in the “battle for the minds” has not yet happened. Also now they have their active followers of the ideas of Keynes, which are taking shape in the form of a new school - new Keynesianism.
There was competition between schools, but many schools that existed at the same time did not compete with each other, as they were engaged in the study of various aspects of the economy.
Studies in Economic Doctrines
According to the largest historian of economic thought Joseph Schumpeter, the first publications devoted to the study of the history of economic concepts were the articles of the French physiocrat Pierre Dupont de Nemours in the journal Ephemerides in 1767 and 1768. Also, a serious analysis of early economic views was carried out by the ancestor of modern economic theory, Adam Smith, in his 1776 treatise An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. The Scottish scientist in this work considers the main concepts of that time - mercantilism and physiocracy.
In the 18th century, along with the development of economic theory, there appeared works devoted to the study of already established economic doctrines. So, in 1824-1825, reviews of the economic views of the follower of D. Ricardo, J. R. McCulloch, appeared. In 1829, the French economist Jean-Baptiste Say devoted the 6th volume of his "Complete Course in Practical Political Economy" to the history of science. In 1837, The History of Political Economy in Europe, by the French economist Jérôme Blanqui, was published. In 1845, another work by J. R. McCulloch, Political Economic Literature, was published. Also, an analysis of economic views can be found in the 1848 book of the German economist Bruno Hildebrand "Political Economy of the Present and Future" and the publications of his compatriot Wilhelm Roscher. In 1850-1868, several articles were published devoted to a review of the economic doctrines of the Italian scientist Francesco Ferrara. In 1858, the Russian economist I. V. Vernadsky published an Outline of the History of Political Economy. In 1871, the German philosopher Eugen Dühring published his Critique of the History of National Economy and Socialism, and in 1888 the book The History of Political Economy by the Irish economist J. K. Ingram was published.
In the 19th century, economic theory arose in the form of separate courses at the law faculties of universities, then special economic faculties appeared, and a circle of professional economists was formed. So, in 1805, the English economist Thomas Malthus became a professor of modern history and political economy at the College of the British East India Company, in 1818 the post of professor of moral philosophy and political economy appeared at Columbia University in New York, in 1819 the French scientist Jean-Baptiste Say took the chair of industrial economics at the Paris Conservatory of Arts and Crafts. Political economy began to be taught as a special subject in 1825 at Oxford, in 1828 at University College London, and in 1832 at Dublin University.
Among the Russian works on the history of economic doctrines of the 19th and early 20th centuries, I.I. Ivanyukov’s “Essay on the History of Political Economy” of 1883, A.I. Chuprov’s “History of Political Economy” of 1892, and L.V. Fedorovich and “History of political economy. Philosophical, historical and theoretical beginnings of the economy of the XIX century. 1909 by A. N. Miklashevsky. As part of the book Economic Essays, the Russian scientist V. K. Dmitriev analyzes the main provisions of the theory of labor value and rent by D. Ricardo, the distribution concepts of I. von Thünen, O. Cournot's competition models and the main provisions of marginalism using mathematical methods. A valuable contribution to the study of the history of economic theories of ancient China was made by V. M. Shtein, who translated and studied the economic chapters of the ancient Chinese monument Guanzi.
The great English economist Alfred Marshall also contributed to this area of economic knowledge, who included an appendix entitled "The Development of Economic Science" in his treatise "Principles of Economic Science" in 1891. "A History of the Theories of Production and Distribution in English Political Economy from 1776 to 1848." English economist E. Kennan, published in 1893, contains an interpretation of the ideas of D. Ricardo,
History of Economic Thought
Introduction
The history of economic doctrines is only a part of the history of economic thought.
The history of economic thought begins from those time immemorial, when people first thought about the goals of their economic activity, the ways and means of achieving them, the relations that develop between people in the process and as a result of obtaining and distributing goods, exchanging products and services produced.
Economic thought is an extremely broad concept. These are the ideas that exist in the mass consciousness, and religious assessments, and prescriptions regarding economic relations, and theoretical constructions of scientists, and the economic programs of political parties ... The sphere of economic thought is diverse: here are the general laws of the economy, and the features of the economy of individual industries, and problems location of production, and money circulation, and the efficiency of capital investments, and the tax system, and methods of keeping records of income and expenses, and the history of the economy, and economic legislation - it's impossible to list everything.
In all this complex set, it is possible, with a certain conventionality, to single out economic doctrines - theoretical concepts reflecting the basic laws of economic life, describing the relationship between its subjects, identifying the driving forces and significant factors in the creation, distribution and exchange of goods.
Economic doctrines are much younger than economic thought. The history of economic doctrines begins from the 16th century; its origins are inextricably linked with the development of the capitalist commodity economy.
This course contains a brief description of the most important theoretical provisions and methodological guidelines of various scientific schools that have left a significant mark on the history of economic doctrines.
Section 1. Formation of economic thought.
Topic 1.1. The subject of the history of economic science
At first glance, the definition of the subject of the history of economic doctrine is not difficult: it is a chronological description, including comments on the most productive attempts to create ever more accurate and correct economic views.
However, this understanding of economic science requires clarification. First of all, the concept has changed over the centuries. subject economic theory. In the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century, the subject of economics was the study of "the nature and causes of the wealth of nations". In the last quarter of the 19th century, economics began to be seen as the science of human behavior, pursuing certain goals and using limited resources. In the 20th century, economic theories have become more advanced. Statistical and analytical methods emerged that were capable of solving problems that their predecessors had not been able to solve.
It is also important to understand the methods of cognition of economic science, which allow you to highlight the essence of various economic theories, look at them from different angles, try to understand how this or that theory would manifest itself in different historical eras. You need to know that the main methods are:
1. The method of scientific abstraction - expresses deep, causal relationships and patterns of economic development. It is a movement from the abstract to the concrete, from the general to the particular.
2. Dialectical - the emergence, origin, maturity, withering away of economic phenomena, the struggle of opposites, resolutions of contradictions, etc.
3. Analysis and synthesis - highlighting the most characteristic features in the essence of phenomena, formulating laws and patterns.
4. The method of induction - the derivation of a theory from facts and observations.
5. Deduction method - formulating hypotheses and confirming them with facts.
There are also system, historical, logical and other methods.
Topic 1.2. Economic doctrines of the ancient world.
The first major centers of civilization originated in the territory of Ancient Asia. Slave ownership reached significant development, the first slave-owning states arose. The most significant of them are:
Babylonian Kingdom - Code of King Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC). The code of laws of King Hammurabi gives an idea that the division of society into slaves and slave owners was recognized as natural and eternal. Slaves were equated with the property of slave owners, concern for the protection of private property and the development of monetary relations was reflected. The basis of the economy of the Babylonian kingdom was a subsistence economy.
Ancient China - Confucianism, a doctrine created by Confucius (551-479 BC). He proceeded from the fact that the social structure is based on the divine principle. Confucius considered the division of society into the “noble” who make up the upper class and the “common people”, whose lot is physical labor, Confucius considered natural. His teaching is aimed at strengthening the emerging slave system, strengthening the authority of the state and the power of the supreme ruler of China.
Ancient India - the treatise "Arthashastra" by Kautilya (late 4th - early 3rd century BC). The treatise tells about social inequality, justifies and consolidates it. The main branch of the economy was agriculture, the construction of irrigation systems, crafts and trade developed, and the idea of active state intervention in the economy was promoted. If a resident of India became a slave, then he could have his own slaves.
Ancient Greece - the greatest role in shaping the teachings of ancient
Greece was played by Xenophon, Plato and Aristotle.
Xenophon (430-355 BC) a student of the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates. His economic views are set forth in the work "Domostroy", which contained numerous advice to slave owners, whose lot was the management of the economy, the exploitation of slaves, but not physical labor. He considered agriculture to be the main branch of the economy. He was the first to notice that the division of labor contributes to the prosperity of production. Crafts and trade were not included in the category of worthy activities.
Plato (427-347 BC) first expressed the idea of the inevitability of dividing the state into two parts: the rich and the poor. Only foreigners could be slaves. He considered agriculture to be the main branch of the economy, but he also approved of crafts. Slaves Plato considered the main productive force.
Aristotle (384-322 BC) is known as the tutor of Alexander the Great. His views on slavery coincide with those of Xenophon and Plato. The merit of Aristotle is an attempt to penetrate the essence of economic phenomena. Wealth he divided into natural and monetary. He considered the natural to be true, because wealth has its limits, but monetary wealth has no such limits. Proceeding from this, he introduced the concepts of "economy" and "chresmatika", explained the need for the circulation of money in the economic sphere.
Ancient Rome completed the development of the economic thought of the Ancient World, reflecting the next stage in the evolution of slavery.
Cato the Elder (234-149 BC) considered the maintenance of slaves, the methods of their exploitation. He argued the need for harsh exploitation of slaves. Subsistence farming was his ideal, but trade was not excluded.
Varro (116-27 B.C.) reflected a more advanced form of slavery, in which slave owners placed their affairs in the hands of managers. His concerns are connected with the strengthening of subsistence farming.
Columella (1st century AD) reflected the crisis of slavery: the low productivity of slave labor, in
Topic 1.3. Economic thought of the era of feudalism.
The era of the Middle Ages covers a large historical period: in Western Europe - from the 5th century to the bourgeois revolutions of the 17th-18th centuries; in Russia - from the 9th century to the reform of 1861.
The politics of the Middle Ages is associated with the defense of the feudal order, according to which subsistence farming was considered a virtue, and trade and usury were not encouraged. The church had exclusive rights, so the economic thought of this period was clothed in a religious shell. The originality of economic thought was clearly reflected in the teachings of Catholicism. The Church increased its power, and possessing huge wealth and landed property, justified the domination of serfdom and defended its position with the help of church rules - canons.
He played a huge role in shaping the teachings of the era of feudalism. Thomas Aquinas(1225-1275), who created an extensive work "The sum of the theologies." His teachings are still widely used by the Vatican. He dealt with such issues as social inequality, fair price, property, interest, profit, and so on.
Aquinas argued that people are born different in nature, so the peasants should be engaged in physical labor, and the privileged classes in spiritual activity.
AT private property he saw the basis of the economy and believed that a person has the right to appropriate wealth. Therefore, the property necessary to satisfy needs is natural and necessary.
fair price is formed on the one hand from the correct price, i.e. production costs, on the other hand, it must guarantee the participants in the exchange an existence worthy of their rank.
Profit, received by merchants, can be considered as payment for their labor.
Aquinas tried to find a compromise regarding the collection percent which was forbidden by the church. He justifies interest by saying that it is a reward for the fact that the creditor is deprived of a possible income from the use of his funds.
The economic thought of the Russian state also existed in close connection with the religious beliefs of the people. Information about that time can be obtained from chronicles, letters of princes, church literature. The first set of laws is Russian truth"(11-13 century), reflecting the practical level achieved by economic thought by this time. It fixed the process of feudalization of the state, gave a legal definition of subsistence farming, contained norms for trade and protection of the interests of Russian merchants, the right to levy taxes, dues in kind, etc.
The economic interests of the landed nobility in the 16th century were expressed Yermolai Erasmus in labor" ruler". This is the first economic and political treatise in Russia, which outlines a system of measures to address the main issues of that time. The question of the position of the peasant masses occupies a great deal of attention. Erasmus proposed to reduce or exempt them from cash payments and shift them onto the shoulders of the urban population. He proposed a reform in the field of land tenure - the distribution of land to peasants and service people.
The first Russian economist is called I. T. Pososhkova. His book " On Poverty and Wealth"- the first work entirely devoted to the problems of Russia's economic development. The main idea of the book is the elimination of poverty and the multiplication of wealth.
He saw the main reasons for the country's economic backwardness in the plight of the peasants and the underdevelopment of the financial system. He condemned poll tax, because it did not take into account differences in the economic situation of payers.
He gave priority trade: defended the interests of merchants, proposed to establish firm and uniform prices for goods, control the course of trade, instead of a multitude of duties, establish one - in the amount of 10%. He forbade the export of raw materials and strictly select exported goods.
Pososhkov advocated the development of agriculture, industry, factories, plants, for a careful attitude to nature and its riches.
He did not equate wealth with money, but believed that " a state is rich when its people are rich ».
The work of Pososhkov reflected the reforming activities of Peter 1.
Topic 1.4. Mercantilism.
The first school of economics was mercantilism, which became widespread in many countries until the end of the 17th century. He expressed the interests of merchant capital, and wealth was identified with gold and silver. The source of wealth was foreign trade. The state was supposed to facilitate the flow of gold and silver from abroad. In its development, mercantilism went through two stages: early and developed.
Early mercantilism- the monetary system, characterized by the concept of monetary balance. Its prominent representative, William Stafford (England). According to this concept, the task of accumulating monetary wealth in the country was solved mainly by administrative measures that ensured the strict regulation of money circulation and foreign trade. Monetarists, considering gold as a treasure, an absolute form of wealth, were looking for ways to inflow it from abroad and keep it inside the country. It was strictly forbidden to export money outside the given state, the activities of foreign merchants were strictly controlled, the import of foreign goods was limited, high duties were established, etc.
Developed mercantilism- manufacturing system, different ways of accumulating wealth. Instead of administrative methods of accumulation, economic methods come to the fore. Mercantilists refused to ban the export of gold outside the country. They outline measures to stimulate foreign trade, which was supposed to ensure a constant flow of gold into the country. The main rule of foreign trade was the excess of exports over imports. To ensure its implementation, the mercantilists took care of the development of manufacturing, domestic trade, the growth of not only exports, but also imports of goods, the purchase of raw materials abroad, and the rational use of money. A ban was maintained on the export of raw materials, the import of a number of goods, especially luxury goods, was limited, high import duties were set, etc. The mercantilists demanded that the royal government encourage the development of national industry and trade, the production of goods for export, maintain high customs duties, build and strengthen the fleet, and expand external expansion.
Mercantilism in individual countries had its own characteristics:
England: mature mercantilism is represented by T. Men. T. Man was a major businessman of his time, one of the directors of the East India Company. He considered the strict regulation of monetary circulation to be harmful, advocated the free export of coins. His rule: "Sell more to foreign countries than buy from them." Men believed that the ban on the export of money abroad inhibits the demand for British goods, and an excess of money in the country leads to higher prices.
Due to the fact that England has outstripped other countries of the world in its capitalist development, the program of the mercantilists proved to be the most effective here. Its implementation contributed to the creation of conditions for the transformation of England into the first industrial power in the world.
France: A. Montchretien created the work "Treatise of Political Economy", in which he recommended the active intervention of the state in the economy. He considered merchants to be the most useful class, and trade was the main goal of crafts. He advised to strengthen manufactories, create craft schools, improve the quality of products. The doctrine of mercantilism was persistently put into practice in the second half of the 17th century. the period of the reign of Cardinal Richelieu (1624-1642) and the activities of the Minister of Finance Louis XIV Colbert (1661-1683). Efforts were made to create manufacturing production, conditions that contributed to its growth (granting loans, various benefits to industrialists and merchants, attracting foreign craftsmen, etc.) France built a fleet, created colonial companies, and launched foreign trade activities. With the help of the mercantilist policy, Colbert tried to overcome the socio-economic backwardness of the country, to catch up with England.
Spain: lingered at the stage of monetarism, in accordance with which the export of gold and silver abroad was severely pursued.
Germany: The evolution of mercantilism in Germany, in addition to the factors noted above, was influenced by the political fragmentation of the country. The activities of early mercantilism were combined here with the economic policy typical of feudal principalities. They only exacerbated the economic chaos that reigned in the country, generated by fragmentation.
Italy: A. Serra published a "Short Treatise", which reflected the stage of mature mercantilism. A. Serra criticized monetarism. He advocated the development of handicraft production, the encouragement of the industriousness and ingenuity of the population, the development of trade, and the conduct of a favorable economic policy of the government. However, mercantilism did not give results due to the backwardness of the country's socio-economic development.
Russia: mercantilism was very specific. The predominantly agrarian nature of the country posed problems that did not fit into the concept of mercantilism. I. Pososhkov and A. Ordyn-Nashchekin developed a number of reforms that significantly moved Russia forward.
Section 2. Classical economic school.
Topic 2.1. Founders of the classical school.
The classical school is a new stage in the development of economic science. Unlike mercantilism, the emphasis is on production as the basis of the economy. Trade is relegated to the background. Two countries took part in the development of the classical direction - England and France. England in the 17th century, France in the 18th century. The founder of this direction in England was W. Petty, in France - P. Boisguillebert. The English classical school considered both agriculture and industry important, the French - agriculture.
W. Petty at first shared the thesis of the mercantilists about the accumulation of gold and silver in the country. He distinguished between natural and market prices. He believed that money expresses a measure of value. The value of a commodity produced by a person in a certain time is equal to the value of the amount of gold and silver that another person can mine, transport and mint coins from it in the same time. Later, he advocated the labor theory of value.
The founder of this trend was P. Boisguillebert. He criticized mercantilism, considering it the culprit of the country's difficult economic situation. Boisguillebert considered money to be the main reason for this state. The only function of money in his opinion is the function of exchange, and the value of a product is created by labor, regardless of whether the product is sold.
Topic 2.2. Physiocratism.
The school of physiocrats was formed in the middle of the 18th century and is translated as "the power of nature." F. Quesnay was the leader of the physiocratic school. In wealth, he sees the material side: exchange and industry cannot create wealth, because trade only moves the product, and industry only transforms the substance without adding anything. The substance grows where nature works. The net income of society is created only in agriculture. In accordance with Quesnay divided society into 3 classes:
Owners - nobility, clergy, king, officials;
Farmers are capitalists and hired workers;
Barren - the commercial and industrial population of the country.
He presented the model of relationships between these classes in the form of an economic table. This model is extremely simplified: it reflects only simple reproduction, i.e. reproduction, repeating from cycle to cycle unchanged.
A. R. J. Turgot completed the teachings of the physiocrats, who brought the most mature form of the physiocratic system. He considered the causes of wage labor, industrial and commercial profits, wages, and so on.
Topic 2.3. English classical school.
The leader of this school is A. Smith. He is the author of the book Studies on the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations”, which consists of 5 books. Smith reviewed division of labor and showed its impact on the growth of labor productivity.
Money he considered a commodity that can be exchanged for any other commodity. Only gold and silver coins can be in circulation.
He was the first to define cost, as the sum of two types of income: wages, profits and rents.
Capital is the sum of the means of production. It is divided into fixed and variable.
The salary is the amount of money a worker receives for his work.
Profit is the result of the worker's unpaid labor, appropriated by the capitalist.
Rent- the result of the worker's unpaid labor, appropriated by the landowner.
Work can be productive or unproductive. The result of productive labor is a material product, so it is exchanged for capital. The result of unproductive labor is services, so it is exchanged for income.
Profit decreases if the price of one product increases; and does not change if the price of all goods increases.
D. Ricardo supplemented and corrected some of the provisions of the work of A. Smith in the book “ The beginnings of political economy and taxation”, which consists of 32 chapters.
He criticized A. Smith for inaccurate definition cost and believed that value is primary and cannot be determined by income.
He did an analysis monetary circulation and came to the conclusion that not only gold and silver, but also paper money can be in circulation, if their number is limited. An increase in paper money in circulation may lead to an increase in prices.
The salary- this is the price of labor and it is associated with the movement of the working population. It can be natural (equal to the cost of necessary consumer goods) and market (equal to the amount of money received by workers).
Capital and profit he characterizes similarly to Smith, but believes that profit decreases if the price of one product increases; and if the price of all goods increases.
Topic 2.3. Utopian socialism.
Utopian socialism went through 2 stages of development: early (15th century) and late (18th-19th centuries). Utopia - "nowhere", i.e. a place that doesn't exist.
Representatives early utopian socialism were T. More and T. Campanella. T. More is the greatest humanist in England, the right hand of the king, the author of the book "Utopia". In it, he describes a non-existent city in which there is universal equality and happiness. For this book, T. mor was executed. T. Campanella, author of the book "City of the Sun", spent 27 years in casemates. The ideas of this book are very similar to those expressed by T. More. But neither More nor Campanella knew how to achieve such a future.
Representatives late utopian socialism are: A. Saint-Simon, C. Fourier, R. Owen.
A. Saint-Simon considered consistent historicism, i.e. believed that each subsequent system should be better than the previous one. The feudal system is better than the slave system, the capitalist system is better than the feudal system. But the capitalist system has not justified itself, so it must be replaced by an industrial system. At the present stage, industrialists, and not the bourgeoisie, should be in power. Therefore, a new system is needed - industrialism. In the new society, large-scale industry will be controlled from a single center and function according to a single plan. Private property is preserved, provided that the owners will obey the general plan. The capitalists must voluntarily hand over their funds to the people.
C. Fourier condemns capitalism for the mismatch of interests between the wealthy minority and the impoverished majority. Therefore, a new system is needed, the basis of which will be small self-governing communities of up to 2,000 people. The main activity of the community will be agriculture, and industry will complement it. People will change jobs several times a day. All property will become public. People will constantly change houses, furniture and other things. The day required for the organization of the phalanx will be given by the capitalists, who will become members of the community. The capitalists themselves will become members of the community and will be subject to a common plan.
R. Owen believed that value under capitalism is determined by money, not by labor. Money does not reflect labor costs and workers do not receive true remuneration. Therefore, money must be abolished and replaced by receipts, which will indicate the labor costs of workers, and for which in the "fair exchange bazaar" it will be possible to purchase any, goods of equal value in terms of labor costs. Owen conducted an experiment in one of the factories in Scotland and proved that it is possible to significantly improve the lives of workers. The new system will be based on common labor, common property, equality in rights and duties.
Topic 2.4. Marxist political economy
This doctrine was created by K. Marx with the direct participation of his friend and colleague F. Engels.
Marx proceeded from three scientific sources: the English classical political economy of Smith and Ricardo, the German classical philosophy of Hegel, and utopian socialism. They borrowed the labor theory of value from Smith and Ricardo. The second - the ideas of dialectics and materialism, the third - the concept of class struggle, elements of the sociological structure of society.
When feudalism collapsed and a “free” capitalist society arose, it became clear that this was a new system of exploitation and oppression of the working people. He criticized capitalism, dreamed of destroying it, but could not find a class in society capable of overthrowing the oppressors. The genius of Marx lies in the fact that he, earlier than others, was able to see the “locomotives of history” in revolutions, he was able to formulate the doctrine of the class struggle. People will always be victims of deception or self-deception in politics if they do not learn from certain phrases, promises, etc. see the interests of certain classes.
The development of the productive forces determines the change in production relations and thus in socio-economic formations. But as capitalism develops its productive forces to colossal proportions, it becomes more and more entangled in contradictions that are insoluble for it. These irreconcilable contradictions between the social character of production and private capitalist appropriation make themselves felt in periodic crises of overproduction, when the capitalists, unable to find solvent demand, are forced to stop production, drive workers out of the gates of enterprises, and destroy the productive forces. It also means that capitalism is fraught with a revolution designed to replace capitalist ownership of the means of production with socialist ownership.
That. communist society must inevitably replace capitalism. Communist society will go through two stages in its development: socialism and communism. At the first stage, private property will disappear, and distribution will be carried out according to work. On the second, commodity-money relations will disappear, and distribution according to work will be replaced by distribution according to needs.
"Capital"
First volume called "", it was published in 1867.
1. Product- has properties: satisfies needs, exchanges, natural properties (signs, characteristics), social properties (relationships between people).
2. Turning money into capital:
C-D-C’ the sale of a commodity for the acquisition of another commodity, i.e. satisfaction of needs. Money in this case is an intermediary.
D-T-D' is the general formula for the movement of capital, i.e. goods are purchased in order to sell them at a higher price. Money in this case is the goal of production.
3. Surplus value production- Value is created by labor. Labor has a dual character: on the one hand, it is concrete labor, as a result of which a specific product is produced, on the other, it is abstract labor, i.e. the expenditure of forces, energy, and this makes the products of labor comparable.
4. Fixed and variable capital:
Permanent Capital is the part of capital that does not change its value in the process of production. These are raw materials, materials, etc.
variable capital is the part of capital that changes its value in the process of production. This is work.
5. Rate of surplus value- m. Npr depends on the variable capital: Npr \u003d m / V. Labor is divided into necessary and surplus.
Necessary labor(working time) - part of the day during which the reproduction process takes place, i.e. the worker spends on himself.
Surplus labor(working hours) - outside the necessary working hours, i.e. part of the day during which the worker produces surplus value.
6. Working day length:
The working day cannot fall below the required working time, and cannot exceed 24 hours. The boundaries of the working day are set between these two limits: adults - 15 hours (from 5.30 to 20.30), adolescents - 12 hours, children - 8 hours. Only men work the night shift.
7. Relative surplus value- necessary + surplus labor. Absolute achieved by lengthening the working day. If labor is paid according to the value of labor, then surplus value can be obtained either by an absolute lengthening of the working day, or by increasing labor productivity.
8. The transformation of surplus value into capital:
Surplus value can be converted into capital only because it contains the same elements - labor costs. Surplus value is divided into capital and income, i.e. accumulates.
Second volume is called " Capital circulation process It was published in 1885.
Capital It is value that brings surplus value. This volume deals with industrial capital.
1. Metamorphoses of capital and its circulation:
D-T ... P-T'-D' money is used to purchase goods in the form of labor power and means of production. Then the movement of capital is interrupted and the process of production begins. As a result, a new type of commodity is obtained and exchanged for money of a larger mass, and the movement of capital is resumed. There is added value. That. There are 3 forms of capital - monetary, commodity and production.
2. Fixed and working capital:
Basic- is constantly involved in the production process. negotiable- in one production cycle.
2. production costs- production, storage costs, transport costs.
3. Capital turnover:
Capital turnover time- this is the time from the moment it is advanced into production, until the moment it returns in the same form. Fixed and circulating capital are included only in the production form of capital. The more turns capital makes, the higher the surplus value.
4. Reproduction and circulation of social capital:
Social capital is formed as a result of the interweaving of individual capitals. Social capital - W = C + V + m = K + p. It consists of the production of means of production and the production of means of consumption.
Third volume called " The process of capitalist production as a whole”, was published in 1894 by F. Engels.
1. The capitalist receives profit from the fact that he sold something that he did not pay for. Profit is the excess over the capital advanced. Profit is the converted value of surplus value. Npr \u003d m / V, and profit P \u003d m / C + V. The same surplus value can create more or less profit (depending on the approach of the capitalist).
2. The impact of wages on production prices:
An increase in wages increases production costs and decreases profits. However, if the rate of profit is reduced, then the mass of profit may increase at the expense of the unpaid labor of the workers. If the part of constant capital increases relative to variable capital, then the rate of surplus value will decrease, or the amount of unpaid labor will increase.
3. Trading capital:
It takes 2 forms - commodity-trade and money-trade, i.e. goods are either sold or bought.
4. Loan capital:
With the development of trade, the basis of credit expands, new means of payment arise - bills of exchange. They form trading money. Lending is about earning interest.
5. Land capital- rent:
Differential rent 1- excess profits received from the best plots of land.
Differential rent 2- excess profit received from the best plots of land through capital investment.
Absolute rent- the rent received by all landowners, tk. the worst plots also make a profit.
Fourth volume called " Surplus value theory", it was published in 1905-1910 and is a standalone book.
This volume contains criticism of previous economic teachings - A. Smith, D. Ricardo and others.
Genesis capitalist ground rent: industry destroys labor power, and agriculture destroys the power of the land.
Marx's triune formula: capital - profit, land - rent, labor - wages.
Section 3. Neoclassical direction.
Topic 3.1. The emergence of the neoclassical trend.
The neoclassical direction or marginalism appeared in the middle of the 19th century and is associated with the introduction of the concept of "marginal utility". This made it possible to create a new tool for analyzing economic reality using mathematical methods. Instead of the dynamic problems of the classical school, static problems appeared that allow mathematical formulations and solutions. At the center of this theory is the behavior of an individual consumer who maximizes his utility from the consumption of goods, and an individual producer who maximizes his profit.
The founder of this direction is Austrian school. The leader of this school K. Menger developed " marginal utility table».
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The starting point of the analysis is a person's attitude to goods, which is manifested in the sphere of personal consumption. The subject of analysis is consumer assessments and consumer choice. The value of any good is determined by its ability to satisfy human needs. The value does not depend on the quantity of the benefit, but on the importance of the need that this good satisfies. Benefits are listed horizontally in descending order of utility. Vertical - units of consumption of these goods. At the intersection, each unit of each good is evaluated. He introduced the concepts of "demand price" and "supply price", analyzed the attitude of a person to goods, the value of goods, etc. O.
Böhm-Bawerk introduced additions to the table - not all benefits can be met in stages, and also singled out objective and subjective value, formulated a market price model, developed a theory of capital as direct and roundabout methods for determining needs, etc.
American school- its leader D. Clark. He formulated 3 universal laws that operate in the economic sphere in any historical era:
1. The law of marginal utility - each class of buyers spends their money first on the most important products, then on less important ones. Those. marginal utility is the utility of the good that a given class can buy with its last unit of money.
2. The law of specific productivity - 4 factors are always involved in production - labor, land, capital and entrepreneurial activity. The owner of the corresponding factor owns his contribution - labor brings wages, land - rent, capital - interest, entrepreneurial activity - profit.
3. The law of diminishing productivity - an increase in any factor of production, while the rest remain unchanged, gives a decreasing increase in production.
Lausanne School- its leaders are L. Walras And In Pareto. L. Walras was the first to develop a closed mathematical model of general economic equilibrium. V. Pareto improved this model and introduced the concept of "preference". The statement that a given good is more useful than another means that a person prefers this good to another. He owns an estimate of the equilibrium, called the "Pareto Optimum" - this is a position in which it is impossible to improve the well-being of at least one subject without compromising the well-being of another.
cambridge school- leader - A. Marshall. He synthesized the ideas of the English classical school and the concept of marginalists. He considers market equilibrium as equality of supply and demand prices. He introduced the concept of price elasticity of demand - it expresses the extent to which the volume of demand increases or decreases with a decrease or decrease in demand. The dynamics of production costs depends on changes in production volumes. Marshall paid much attention to the time factor - in the short term, prices are decisively affected by a change in demand, in the long term - by a change in supply. Marshall's contribution to economic theory is so great that it is called the "Marshallian revolution".
Topic 3.2. Economic thought in Russia in the late 19th early 20th century.
M. I. Tugan-Baranovsky adhered to the social direction, which is based on the theory of distribution. Distribution was portrayed by him in the form of the struggle of various social groups for the "sharing" of the social product. The most important distribution category is wages. Its magnitude is regulated, on the one hand, by labor productivity, and on the other, by the strength of the working class. He compared the accumulation of loan capital with the accumulation of steam in a cylinder. M. I. Tugan-Baranovsky was the first to formulate the law of the investment theory of cycles and anticipated Keynes' idea of "savings-investment". The phases of the industrial cycle are determined by the laws of investment.
N. D. Kondratiev worked on the problems of national economic planning, drew up the first plans, conducted market research, studied the objective characteristics and trends of a market economy. He is known to world science as the author of the theory of large cycles of the economic situation. N. D. Kondratiev studied data on European countries and the USA. The observation period was 140 years. At this time, 2.5 large cycles ended. N. D. Kondratiev is the only one who managed to present evidence for the existence of large cycles and they were named after him “Great Kondratiev Waves”.
A. V. Chayanov was the leader of the organizational-production school. The main subject of his research was the peasant economy. He put forward a plan for the reconstruction of the agrarian sector: the transfer of land to the ownership of the working peasantry; the introduction of labor ownership of land; the transfer to the state of the landed estates; introduction of a unified agricultural tax. A. V. Chayanov spoke out against the equalizing allotment of land to the peasants. His major achievement is the theory of differential optima of agricultural enterprises. The optimum is achieved where, other things being equal, the cost of the products obtained will be the lowest, i.e. envy of natural and climatic conditions. Chayanov proposed to carry out the socialization of the land - the destruction of land ownership. This means a revolution in land ownership and possible coexistence with the bourgeois order. He saw the stability of peasant farms in the fact that the peasant does not pursue profit and rent, but strives for economic independence.
V. K. Dmitriev compiled a system of linear equations, with the help of which he expressed simultaneous production costs and, for the first time in world literature, gave a way to express total costs. He came to the conclusion that the level of socially necessary costs is determined under the worst conditions. He introduced the concept of "technological coefficients of production costs", which formed the basis of the "cost-output" method of V. Leontiev.
E. E. Slutsky adhered to the mathematical and economic direction. One of his important works is "On the theory of a balanced consumer budget", in which he made a number of conclusions about the conditions for a stable consumer budget. Slutsky was the first to raise the question of the need for a special science - praxeology, which would develop the principles of rational behavior of people in various conditions.
L. V. Kantorovich, a Nobel laureate in economics, showed that any economic problems of distribution can be considered as problems of maximizing a certain value under certain restrictions. He created linear programming methods that are convenient for many types of calculations in the economy. He showed the existence of dual estimates in linear programming problems - one cannot simultaneously minimize costs and maximize results.
Section 4. Modern economic theory.
Topic 4.1. institutionalism.
Institutionalism originated at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries in the United States. Its founder was T. Veblen. In his Theory of the Leisure Class, he opposed the notion that each individual seeks the greatest profit. A person is not a calculating machine, and in addition to benefits, there are also customs, traditions, mores.
The period of the beginning of the 20th century was marked by the rapid growth of corporations. In this regard, T. Veblen added another group to the 3rd classes of society - technical specialists.
T. Veblen believes that the era of the market economy covers 2 stages:
On the first, property and real power are in the hands of the entrepreneurs;
On the second, there is a split between business and industry. Business is in the hands of the leisure class, which lends its capital rather than investing in production.
In his opinion, the modern economy does not operate on the basis of supply and demand. Large firms are involved in speculative operations, increasing their purchasing power through credit, rather than expanding production. As a result, there are pyramids of credit, there is a recession in business activity, the bankruptcy of many firms, due to the requirements of immediate repayment of loans.
D. Commons proposed the theory of transactions, according to which the transaction was a trinity: conflict, interrelation of interests, conflict resolution.
W. Mitchell was a researcher of economic cycles.
D. Galbraith devoted his attention to the industrial system, corporations, the role of the state, etc. He was the first to substantiate the thesis about the replacement of the power of the market - by the decisions of managers. He considers it necessary to limit the power of corporations, military concerns, military department apparatuses. He developed reforms aimed at strengthening the role of the state; retraining of persons left without work; reduction in military spending, etc.
R. Coase (50s of the 20th century) considered the problem of a “continuous market”, i.e. interaction between state regulation and market economy. He opposed attempts to find market failures and encourage government intervention in the economy.
Topic 4.2. Keynesianism.
Since the mid-1930s, the development of economic theory has been influenced by the theory of D. Keynes. In 1936, D. Keynes' book "The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money" was published. Keynesianism gained worldwide fame because of the rationale for the need for government intervention in the economy. His theory was formed after the global crisis "The Great Depression" and was a "lifeline" for the economies of many countries. The focus is on 2 problems: demand and unemployment.
Demand theory: before D. Keynes, it was believed that all produced goods would be sold, but D. Keynes believes that a person may not purchase goods, but save his money. D. Keynes identifies 3 ways to regulate demand:
Monetary policy - stimulating demand by lowering the rate of interest and influencing the desire for liquidity,
Budgetary policy - the organization of investments. The lack of private investment must be regulated at the expense of the state,
The policy of protectionism - closing the borders to foreign competitors expands the conditions for domestic production.
The theory of employment and unemployment: with an increase in employment, national income increases, and therefore consumption increases. But consumption is growing more slowly than income, because the propensity to save increases. That. effective demand decreases, and this affects the size of production. The decline in production leads to an increase in unemployment. Keynes identified frictional, voluntary and involuntary unemployment caused by a decrease in demand.
Multiplier theory: investment in any industry entails an increase in employment, income and consumption not only in this industry, but also in industries associated with it. In turn, changes in these industries generate growth in employment, income, and consumption in second-tier industries. There is a multiplier effect. The value of the multiplier depends on the proportion of consumption in income. The main problem should be considered the transformation of the saved part into investments.
Topic 4.3. The modern stage of development of economic doctrines.
Monetarism- appeared in the mid-80s and became a battlefield between the followers of D. Keynes and the monetarists, whose leader was M. Friedman. Monetarists argue that government intervention in the economy according to Keynesian recipes is harmful in the long run. the action of market regulators is blocked. The regulatory role of the state should be limited to the sphere of monetary circulation. The condition for economic stability is the constant, gradual pumping of the money supply into circulation.
neoliberalism has 3 centuries of history and is in constant combat with the concept of state intervention in the economy. By the end of the 19th century, he lost ground, but by the 30-40s of the 20th century, he again gained strength in the person of L. Von Mises and F. von Hayek. L. von Mises considered the division of labor, private property and exchange to be the foundations of civilization. And the regulated economy is turning into a field for the arbitrariness of state officials. F. von Hayek believes that only the market is able to quickly respond to fluctuations in supply and demand. And central planning will always be late. In some studies, their direction is called neoliberalism. But most scientists call neoliberalism another branch of economic liberalism, whose leader was W. Eucken, and one of the representatives - L. Erhard. The function of the state, in their view, is the role of the judge to ensure that the rules are followed.
Supply theory appeared in the late 70s and 80s. A large role in the development of this theory belongs to the American Enterprise Institute. Fluctuations in economic growth rates, unemployment and inflation, in their opinion, were provoked by an increase in government spending. In practice, this theory has not justified itself.
rational expectations theory it is a product of the latest evolution of neoclassicism. This school was formed in the USA. Rational expectations are formed on the basis of all available information about the current state and prospects for the development of the economy. However, this theory turned out to be divorced from real processes.
Literature:
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